Reply To: The Holiness of God, Chapter 2 – Holy, Holy, Holy

[Nayara Jordan]

Thank you Lee for the Bonhoeffer quote. It’s great. My campus minister when I was in college spoke extensively of God’s grace. One of Gaired and I’s favorite quotes we remember him preaching went something like, “Grace isn’t cheap, it’s free. And even if it was cheap- you still couldn’t afford it.” No matter the price, we will never be able to buy or earn the grace that our holy God gives freely- and that is because Jesus was the only one who could truly pay this price.

I really enjoyed this chapter. A few standouts:

1. The distinction between LORD vs. Lord and how it is used in scripture. I had heard of this before, but it was refreshing to hear explained in further detail. These distinctions can be so easy to miss if you’re casually reading the Bible, but meditation and attention to detail always reveals so much more.
2. I was particularly stricken by the story of Moses seeing God’s back as imagery for God’s holiness. The fact that God only showed his back, Moses’ face now reflected this glory, and that this display terrified the people so much so that he had to cover his face… How much more holy is the face of God himself? It really clicked with me.
3. The idea of repetition 2x or 3x for emphasis seems logical but was a new learning for me in terms of how this structure would resonate with the original audience in this time period. Just another example that really sat with me. God is not just holy, but he is holy, holy, holy.